Biology · Morphology of Flowering Plants · NEET
| Nodes & internodes | Present (stem) | Absent (root) |
| Buds | Present, terminal or axillary (stem) | Absent (root) |
| Origin in embryo | From the plumule (stem) | From the radicle (root) |
| Direction of growth | Ascending, grows upward (stem) | Descending, grows into soil (root) |
| Colour when young | Usually green, later woody (stem) | Non-green (root) |
| Bears leaves/flowers | Yes, at nodes (stem) | No (root) |
Look for nodes and internodes. The stem has nodes (points where leaves are born) and internodes (the gaps between nodes). A root has no nodes and no internodes at all. So if you can see a node with a leaf or a bud, that part is a stem. This one feature clears most NEET confusion questions.
No. A normal root does not bear buds. The stem bears buds, which may be terminal (at the tip) or axillary (in the leaf axil). Because roots lack buds, they cannot normally give rise to leaves or branches the way a stem does. This is a favourite NEET point.
Yes. The stem is the ascending part of the axis and develops from the plumule of the germinating seed embryo. The root is the descending part and develops from the radicle. NEET often frames this as an origin question, so remember: plumule to stem (up), radicle to root (down).
The young stem is usually green because it is above the soil and can carry out photosynthesis; later it often becomes woody and dark brown. A root grows inside the soil, stays away from light, and is generally non-green. Colour alone is a weak clue, but combined with nodes and buds it helps.
They are still roots (the fibrous root system in monocots like wheat). The point of origin being the stem base does not make them stem; they lack nodes, internodes and buds, so they are true roots. NEET 2020 tested exactly this: roots from the base of the stem are fibrous roots.
The roots that originate from the base of the stem are:
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
(1) The stem has nodes and internodes; the root has neither. (2) The stem bears buds (terminal or axillary); the root does not. (3) The stem develops from the plumule and grows upward, while the root develops from the radicle and grows downward. These three points answer almost every NEET stem-vs-root question.
Not always. Some stems are underground (like the potato tuber or ginger rhizome), but they still show stem features such as nodes, internodes, buds and scale leaves. So an underground part can still be a stem if it has nodes and buds. This is why the node-and-bud test is more reliable than the up-or-down test.
A normal root does not bear buds. Certain modified or adventitious roots can be exceptions, but for standard NEET Morphology questions you should treat 'has buds' as a stem feature and 'no buds' as a root feature.
The node is the region of the stem where leaves are born, and the internode is the portion between two nodes. Since leaves and axillary buds sit at nodes, the presence of a node is direct proof that a structure is a stem, not a root.
